"Just another day in paradise" the song says.............

The past four days here might just be what that song was about, if you've ever heard it. Regarding the washing machine: "Honey DON'T KICK IT!!" "Promise I'll fix it!!" Yes, like that!! Despite the fact that the dishwasher died on Saturday morning with a sink full of birthday party prep stuff and a dishwahser full of the rest of the birthday party food prep items, we got all the dishes washed and put up, the party was a terrific success and the kitchen was clean before I went to bed, oh around 1:30. The Hannah and Grammy Linda created Disney princess two tiered cake : one tier blue, and one tier pink was sprinkled with colored sugar sprinkles and was beautifully colorful with HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADDY across it, the potato salad, pasta salad, rice, beans, beef burgers and venison burgers were supurb! The 40 + people celebrating my grand daughter's birthday had a great time I think, whether they sat on the deck in the PERFECT late September evening weather,bounced on the trampoline, swang or slid or climbed on the playset, played football, baseball, or rode the horse. Maddy was so sweet with her gifts, opening something and running to the giver with a huge hug and a loud "THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!" She later told Hannah, "Mommy?" I wasn't GREEDY at ALL and I made sure I told everyone 'thank you' didn't I!!!"
I was so thankful for the diversion of the party for Hannah and Jon's stil grieving spirits. Sunday's worship music , since I am the worship leader was led by God to be all about praise, thanksgiving and God's faithfulness, and His mercies which are new EVERY MORNING. Some of the words God had me choose were hard for me to sing, and impossible for me to look toward Hannah or Jon over, for sure, but God IS FAITHFUL and His Word does not come back void. Our wonderful Heavenly Father ministered His comfort and His loving kindness all through the day!
Sunday was also our family outing day and we went to see "Fire Proof" at the closest theatre showing it:45 miles away. IT WAS 100% worth the gas in our Big Green 12 passenger Glory Bus to make the trip. GO SEE THE MOVIE if you are married, want to be married, know someone who is married .....JUST GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You'll see why as you watch the movie. Its on my list of Christmas gift ideas now!
Monday was supposed to just be a "Regular school day" RIGHT? It was until a teen aged boy decided to go racing up our country road so fast that he didn't see what he created for my young children to see and create last night's nightmares about: his slamming into Esther's Corgi pup, at the edge of the road, sending him up in the air, and careening down the road on his head.The teen driver did not stop. Now that we have identified him, we will be visiting him and his parents this afternoon, with the $150 vet bill so that we could determine if he was too injured to let live or if he would be able to recover. Since this would have been the 5th dog we lost this year to careless drivers (some in MY DRIVEWAY and NOT my family!!) I was thrilled to discover that his puppy bones were still soft enough to not have been broken. The concussion will heal, the dislocated hips will heal, he will walk again, maybe he will even bark again. After running puppy ICU I was thrilled to have a quiet dinner date with dh Charlie . Some hard decisions were made about our adoption plans but some really good ones too; a few more details to follow after we finish the conversation our Army son in California interupted with on his first chance to use his phone in 4 weeks due to a desert training exercise . All's well that's ending well, and I'm ready to call it a night when dear Hannah called with apparent scary complications from Friday's D&C. My quiet night ,and my date with DH was postponed as I spent the night with Hannah and Jon in the ER. She is OK but needed quite a bit of intervention and meds. Suffice it to say I am a sleepy Mamma today!!!!!!!! Hannah is feeling way better she told me and for that I praise God. His mercies ARE new every morning and I am still singing "Great IS Thy Faithfulness"
The puppy just peed about a gallon, Esther reports, his first "offering" since before the accident at 1 yesterday!!!!!! Hurray!!!
We thought that the wiring had gone out in the kitchen along with the dishwahser, but AGAIN, Praise God, it was something easily remedied and repaired. We can wash dishes by hand for a while ( NOT my favorite chore to be sure,) but at least we are not doing it in the dark or by candlelight!!!!! Blessed be the name of the Lord! My heart WILL choose to say "Lord Blessed be Your Name!!"
VERY near to announcing our adoption plans, school happened today, I am coherent and Oh............. Charlie also shared last night that he got the really big refinery contract that he'd been working for several months..... This is HUGE!!!
JUST ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I love our life!!!

God's faithfulness through Tupperware!

What a week! All are busy weeks but add working a Tupperware fund raising campaign into the mix and, yes, BUSY is a very underestimated assessment of the situation. I am so pleased to be able to share that we had just under $600 in sales!!!! We will make 60% of that in funds toward our adoption !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Not the events of Thursday and Friday with Hannah and the baby, not Charlie forgetting his phone and then being "missing in action" late into the night can diminsh how thrilled I am at God's providence! My sales rep was so excited as well at the success of this campaign. She encouraged me to open another month long fund raiser, or as many monhth long fund raisers as I wanted to do because even in this great sale, there were a lot of folks I couldn't touch base with and complete a sale.
I did work hard, but God gave the increase, as the Aposlte Paul would say.
Little by little God is providing, and I am going to praise HIM!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

The Presidential campaigning has opened a lot of new / old dialog, dissent, heated arguementor introspective thought and personal reflection about LIFE. I'm reading more PRO-LIFE stories in the news than I have since the early 1990's when we were so deeply involved.
One candidate feels that it is the right of one human being to order and pay for the execution of a baby in the womb AND also the right of one human being to choose to allow an "unwanted" or "unplanned" baby who is born alive despite efforts to prevent such an event, to die: as long as that human is the baby's own MOTHER. One candidate stands staunchly entrenched in his firm belief that life begins at conception and is sacred, should be valued and protected. This seems like such a no-brainer; yet the enemy has done an excellent PR job in convincing people that "it" is not a life:YET (something I simply do not "get" ) that "it" is a "choice" and that "it" is a "just a 'Fetus' " . Its as if using a word other than "baby" somehow diminishes the fact that any "fetus" ... a Latin word for "little one" has value or the right to his or her life, or should be treated any differently than a bigger person or one with a mother possessing different beliefs.
This week our family has been hit squarely in our reality how precious LIFE is. Even in grieving today over the loss of my daughter's baby,at 11 weeks into her pregnancy, and discovering that the baby probably didn't even live past about 3 or 4 weeks, we KNOW this was a life and we are very sad that the life created by the love between my daughter and my son in law will not be born into and grow up in our lively rambunctious love filled family........ we won't get to know Baby T .....for now. God in His wisdom, allowed us all to know there WAS a baby, but then took that child Home before Hannah got to feel the life kicking, before Jon could put a hand on Hannah's belly and feel a kick for himself. It was LIFE , it was cherished and it was anticpated. The absence of any of those emotions would NOT have made my grand baby baby any LESS
of a LIVE LIFE. I don't know why this baby was taken into the presence of the Father so early in his/her life but I know that Heaven is now Baby T's home. I know that the D&C Hannah experienced this afternoon was only a closing of a chapter of her newly married life, and I know that she and her husband are grieving that their tiny baby, so loved so eagerly awaited , and now so missed. How could there be any question that pregnancy produces LIFE??

some days are just harder than others

God is always good. He is always in control but that doesn't mean that sad , heartbreaking things don't happen. They do. Our daughter Hannah went to her OB appointment this morning for her scheduled ultrasound to check on the pregnancy and get a "head count".Meds and family history were leaning toward a multiple baby pregnancy and we were eager to find out. All was going well until after the doctor found the placenta . That was all he found. No baby , babies, no heart beats, no little arms or legs................something had happened and the placenta kept growing even though the baby had died. A second ( and internal) ultrasound in the afternoon confirmed the findings of the first one and Hannah is having a D&C in the morning. All the excitment which had built throughout the week and which was bubbling from my sweet daughter quickly turned to tears and heart break. Her husband was off work for the day and was with her. For that I am so thankful. We prayed together several times, and I saw God pouring out His Spirit of comfort upon her and Jon but OH YES,
we are hurting. The memory of all 7 of my miscarriages has come flooding back in empathy for my daughter. It was a pain and sadness I hoped that none of my children would experience and yet now my daughter and I share the sadness of both loosing our first pregnancies . I will be with her for the day tomorrow and Saturday we will have a 4th birthday party BBQ for Mady, Jon's daughter whom Hannah loves as much as any mom could love a child. HOW I praise God that the exhcange of Mady from her birth mom went well today. It is seldom nice, and I am thankful to the Father that Mady is with them this weekend because Hannah has both Jon and Mady to focus on as she grieves the loss of their baby. When I was pregnant the last time, our daughter Kari was pregnant too and we teased about the movie "Father of the Bride, part 2" where the mom and daughter were pregnant together. Well, that time Kari had twins and I lost the baby. Hannah and I kidded about it being our turn for "Father of the Bride, part 2" this time...her pregnancy and our adoptions. Perhaps if she is able to heal and conceive again after a few months we will STILL have our "fantasy" come true. We won't travel until after mid February for our children. Not as close in arrivals perhaps, but its still possible!!!!!!!!
My prayer today has been in song. "Blessed be your name. When the darkness closes in Lord still I will say 'Blessed be the name of the Lord Blessed be Your name. My heart will CHOOSE to say 'blessed be the name of the Lord!'" I am trusting God to heal my daughter and my son in law of their broken hearts as He heals her body and that He draws them even closer to Himself in this hard time, and that I will be what she needs me to be in this very grown up mother -daughter situation.

Giving and Receiving

We are in the final days of a Tupperware fund raiser for our adoption fund and I am SO blessed by the repsonse so far!!!Even our dentist and orthodontist and oral sugeon's offices are praticipating.with excitement!!!! I am humbled and thrilled that so many people from our city will have had a part directly in bringing our children home!!!! Thank You Father for the response!
Last nightwe went to a fund raiser for K-Life, which is our youth program. K-Life branched out from Joe White and Kannakuk Kamps in Brnason Misouri so that kids touched by God in that camp setting could continue to fellowship and grow in their faith and with accountability in a youth group setting. K-Life has big weekly meetings, small group meetings for just a few kids with their leader, and then there are one-on-one meetings:just one child with one leader. My pre-teen and teen kids have loved the Bible study time as well as the fellowship of a college aged person whoshares their interests for sports, gymnastics, academics, etc. We began our K-Life chapter last year and the report we got last night was that the leaders spent 7200 hours with kids in that one year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The club had to move from its first location due to incredible response of the community! Now K-Life has a great venue right on Main Street down town, great visibility and lots of space for the big groups of kids (K-Life ministers to children age 7 -12th grade in age and gender specific groups). The focus is FELLOWSHIP and SPIRITUAL GROWTH and the leaders, all trainedfor what they volunteer to do, is amazing!!!!
We were invited guests of one of the sponsors of this chapter ( who happends to be a close friend) to the fund raiser dinner and speech time. The needed budget goal for the year, which includes the salary for only paid staff memeber: the K-Life leader who IS a full time K-Life missionary, if you will, and all other expenses was set at $55,000. At the dinner last night, I received word this morning, K-Life raised $30,000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
K-Life is not a replacement for church's own youth programs, but some churches like ours are too small to have their own programs so K-Life is perfect for us. Other chuches supplement thier own programs with K-Life so that the kids don't get the idea that "only " their church has the Truth or true Believers.K-Life has helped to create a bond between a lot of the Christian kids at the High School, reaching across the FFA, sports and band "clique" lines like nothing else could because the love of Jesus brings them together. The outreach to unchurched kids has been wonderful too. For so many kids who are from one parent homes with very limited parent to child time ("quality" or "quantity" ) having small groups where someone is taking the time to get to KNOW them and care for them is truly the hand of Jesus reaching out.
It is so awesome to be part of GIVING to support K-Life (among other things) WHILE being minstered to by RECEIVING from others who are supporting us.

A friend shared this link earlier today. I don't know much about the spiritual concept of "soaking" intellectually, but spiritually I "get it" and this link is to some absolutely beautiful "soaking music".
Enjoy, be blessed and ministered to as you come just as you are and spend time in the presence of our Heavenly Father!
http://www.soaking.net/

if I am trusting God implicitly, why is my stomach churning?

A friend shared some information about a foundation which provides adoption grants. This organization had extra funds available so was providing opportunity to apply for an unplanned grant between September 1 and 8. I prayed over my words, filled out the form on Sept 1, asked to be added to thieir email news list, and waited..............and prayed , and waited. Today a comment I made to one of my beloved email Sister-groups caused this friend to let me know that she'd gotten an email from the organization saying that they had selected and notified three recipients of the grant. OBVIOUSLY not the SMITHS. OK so I am disappointed that we were not selected, but I fully acknowledge that there are always folks needier. That part is ok. BUT, here's the stomach churning part.............DID I hit a wrong button and NOT supbmit the application at all?????????????????????????? Why aren't I even on their email list as I also asked? The other churn-cranker is that they announced in the email my friend sent on to me (since I didn't get it) that they were so touched by the stories of the applicants that NEXT TIME they have funds to give as a grant, they will pick from THAT batch of applicants, and not open the pool to new ones. Since we are proceeding in Ghana as an independent adotpion, and not affiliated with an agency, there are far fewer organizations who will provide grants. IF I "blew" this one somehow, it is back to square one with trusting God to show us what to check into next. I am believing that we will NOT go nose deep into debt over our new children, so I know if I did inded "blow" this opportunity, God will open a new path for us to walk on...................but my stomach is still churning.Did God provide an opportunity and I got careless with it? I am not much of a second -guesser so right this minute I am really trying to rebalance KNOWING in my deepest knowing places that GOD (with my "help" and without) makes NO MISTAKES against WHAT's UP WITH THIS???????? I am totally fine with not getting the grant, I am NOT OK with DID LINDA MESS UP!!!??? I emailed the organization asking if they would check on the existence of our application.That will tell me something anyhow.
We now have 5 wonderful notarized copies of our home study in hand, are awaiting word of referrals for our new children's identities, my Tupperware fund raiser is in full gear........is God going to provide in such a way that we don't "NEED" the grant folks??? I'm OK with that certainly, my faith was not in them anyhow, but it sure seemed "right" , "easier" "cool" "worth hoping for". I DO KNOW that My GOD SHALL SUPPLY ALL OUR NEEDS ACCORDING TO HIS RICHES IN GLORY. I just need to know where the next doors are so I can knock on them.
Praise God , three other families did get financial assistance for their adoptions!! God met some needs this week and I am so thankful that these other people's burdens were lightened a bit!!!! My stomach will be fine!

HOME STUDY!!

We got it ! We got the rough draft tonight; we corrected the very few mistakes and I sent it on to our Ghana program coordinators!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Tupperware fund raiser got off to a nice start too with over $60 in sales in a very short time!!
We will have the notarized copies of the new home study in our hands on Thursday when the kids and I make a trip to our Asian Market and take some freshly home baked goodies from our kitchen to our dear social worker!
WOOOOOOOOOO WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

Its beginning to look a lot like.......ADOPTING!!!

.....starting with the email this morning from our social worker that our home study will be completed no later than Wednesday morning but more than likely TOMORROW (YAY HURRAY and PRAISE THE LORD!!!) to meeting with my friend who is coordinating our Tupperware fund raiser,to getting an email from ANOTHER friend, who is a rep for a home decorating catalog company, has also offered to help with a fund raiser in her business !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just felt so blessed and so loved to have friends who are working to help their family incomes as reps for their respective companies offer to help US!!! It was pretty exciting this evening to send out the email invitations to my communities to particapte in our two-week long Tupperware campaign, AND to get responses so quickly! (Details tba on the home decorating party schedule)
There has been fund raising going on for awhile, but this is the first PUBLIC-involved fund raising.
I have two more , yes, OK, three , goats still to sell and any money we make there will be Calico Acres Farm's contribution to the Adoption Fund. Two are going to sell soon; I have a buyer just finishing up his fence so he's ready for them. My other side effort is that any money from refunds or rebates on anything go into THE FUND.
I am praying that God will be glorified in our efforts as He guides us and that He bless all those who would help us with putting the funds together, so we can together celebrate the home coming of the newest "ingredients in Smith Soup: " our new little girl and boy.

the wallet story

For the past several days Charlie's wallet has been missing.Well Charlie NOTICED that it was missing several days ago. He really had no idea for how LONG it had been missing. Could be for as long as 2 weeks. He doesn't use his check book all that often. Not "Where did I leave my wallet? " spaced out-missing , but "I ALWAYS keep my wallet in this certain place and its GONE" --kind of missing. We tore the house apart, scoured the barn, Charlie tore his truck apart numerous times in search of his rather large checkbook wallet, which had not only his check book but several hundreds of dollars as well. We could cancel the checks ,not a big deal, but his cash , well that is another story. We prayed , we asked friends to pray. NO WALLET. The bank reassured me that there had been no checks written on the account: good sign , but three days and no sign of the wallet. I took the truck shopping today and in the Walmart parking lot the Lord so very strongly impressed upon me to look one more time for Charlie's wallet. I pulled the seats down and forward, looked in the wheel wells, the spare tire compartment, under the floor mats, ran my hand in every possible crevice and cranny. NO wallet. "I decided" to start at the very beginning, where the wallet usually sits: in the center console. I opened the console, pushed a few things around and looked around in a circular fashion at the whole compartment. THERE IN A MAP COMPARTMENT ON THE INSIDE OF THE CONSOLE DOOR, almost camouflaged because it and the console door are matte black, WAS THE WALLET!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I opened it quickly to be sure that the contents were still there, and yes they were!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! After breaking into tears of absolute joy and relief and prayers of thanksgiving, composing myself enough to be understood by a human, I called Charlie to tell him the news. "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'" he responded. "Now I remember. I saw that map slot one afternoon and tried it out for my wallet and it fit. I completely forgot that slot was there!. Oh thank YOU FATHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Much rejoicing in the camp at the "found" wallet to be sure! I knew Charlie was beating himself up like crazy for loosing or allowing his wallet to be stolen, and I was really praying that he's sense that we were not beating him up, but praying that the wallet be found safe and sound. God was faithful!

reading and fundraising

I am reading THE ART OF LISTENING PRAYER and RED LETTERS, by Seth Barnes and Tom Davis respectively.
WOW!!!!!!!! That is a lot to take in all at once but I am being so challenged by both of these men through their writings!!! Maybe nothing "new" theologically, but like fresh water ideologically.............combining the two authors thoughts and intents, I can say that I am growing in how I am willing to spend time with God: being filled and developing a deeper, fuller, and richer relationship with my Father
so that I am better equipped BY my Father to be used in more and more areas of my life, and the life around me. OK maybe a bit of a run on sentene but that would sum it up at the moment!!! Please check out both of their blogs from my blog list if you are not reading them already (making a big jump of an assumption that there are more than two or three of us reading what I write at all!!)
AND, on the fund raising front, my dear precious dentist wanted Tupperware catalogs TODAY when I told her , over the pulling of daughter Rachel's two really bad teeth, that we would be doing a Tupperware fund raiser for our next kiddos! Her first question to me after HOW were we today was, "WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH YOUR ADOPTION PLANS??????????????????? " She told me to absolutely bring catalogs in to the office and she'd get them around and would definitely order some things!!! She shares office space with her brother who is also a doctor so I am anticipating great participation from their office!! Churhc and the bowling alley are bing alerted, so is the home school group, the basketball group.................I took letters to several businsses asking for OSU sports event parking donations....I asked if the businesses who sell parking spaces for the football games would donate 1/10 of one days' proceeds to our adoption fund. I know that a lot of the funds are used for mission trips and such, and the Humane Society, so my thinking was 1/10 of one day from a number of different locations would not "hurt" thier pre-planned giving, but woud SURE help us!!!!!!!! Praying over who else to visit and getting the word out...I'm excited!!!!!!!!!!!!PRAYING SAMUEL ELIJAH AND KEREN JUBILEE HOME!!!!!

Sweatshirts, bowling and fund raisers, and kids in college

Ok so you have to scroll down below the posts to see what Jael, 14 1/2, our sophomore, HAD TO HAVE for school! She has joined the Young Republicans club at the high school, is quite well informed on issues , she is animatedly articulate (maybe just a "little" like her Mamma?) and not afraid to engage anyone in a discussion. Her hoodie sweatshirt pick for a "school uniform" is perfect for her. She was not particularly excited about the party ticket until the addition of Sarah Palin, but she immediately read up on both cnadidates, and is now doing a speech for her AG class next week comparing the two major parties, platforms, and their candidates. GO JAEL GO!!!!
Bowling. did you know I am an avid ,albiet not supurb bowler and have bowled on a mixed league for several years? Even with my right hip being seriously out of allignment tonight I still managed to maintain my 144 average, even if I didn't bowl any spectacular games tonight. My highest game ever was a 192, and that only happened once ,but I do like to bowl. While bowling and talking about various ways to raise funds for our up-coming adoptions, I mentioned asking for 1/10 of the parking money that various busineses in Stillwater take in during our University football and basketball seasons . It is BIG business, using your parking lot of $15-$30 per ehcile parking for the college sporting events. MAYBE 1/10 of one afternoon's intake might not be a big gauge in the overall tke for a business, but if several were willing to donate that money to our adotpion fund, it would make a BIG difference for us. My friend and bowling partner suggested several businesses for me to ask.
THEN she told me that if I booked a Tupperware party with her, she would donate her take as the sales rep to our fund raiser!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
HOW COOL IS THAT?????????????????????????????????????
We talked about the grant we applied for last week, and which I hope and pray we find favor for , about matching grants and other fund raiser ideas, but I was so touched at her generous offer to out right give her profits along with whatever else we might make, to our fund!!!!!!!!!!!! THANK YOU Pashca and THANK YOU LORD!!!!!!!!!!!! We will have a Tupperware party sometime in the next few weeks! Please pray with me that I do find favor with local businesses and churches when I approach them about our fund raiser? I know that most of the churches have earmarked their parking money for mission projects, but what I will be proposing is ALSO a mission out reach! I'm excited ! I've sold cook books before, adoption bracelets, bumper stickers and lots of other items but never taken our fund raising to the city itself.
OH and our two most recent college entrants received their Pell grant letters today.PRAISE THE LORD we do not have to go deep into debt over this school year !! Almost every expense was covered by grant and scholarship offerings!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We were "audited" for the 4th year in a row so actually getting the award letter took a lot longer than a normal submission, process and approval time frame. The kids started their freshman semester almost a month ago!! We are very thankful for the assistance!!!!!
NOW .....we just need that Home Study in hand!